1. Field of the Invention
Without limiting the scope of the invention, the present invention relates generally to telephony and more particularly, to systems, methods, and devices for adding wireless functionality to a desktop telephone.
2. Description of the Related Art
Desktop telephones usually have wired handsets, which limits their range and usability. To help address this problem, some desktop telephones incorporate wireless or cordless handsets. While this can help user mobility, wireless handsets often have drawbacks with respect to compromised security, battery life, performance, bandwidth, cost, and capabilities.
To address these issues, there is a growing number of wireless technologies. However, most of these technologies, such as Bluetooth®, 802.11, DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications), GSM (Global System for Mobile communication), and CDMA (Code-Division Multiple Access), etc., are incompatible with one another. Consequently, a user who buys a telephone with a wireless handset must make an irreversible selection of the wireless technology, and has no ability to change this without replacing the telephone.
This is an increasing problem because telephones are becoming more complex and expensive as IP telephony grows. For example, telephones are being equipped with more sophisticated displays, more capable built-in computers, video and high-quality audio capability, and more interfaces to other devices on the network and on the desktop. Hence, changing the wireless technology or changing its capabilities becomes a significant investment, requiring replacement of the entire telephone and often reconfiguration of the company network.